The overarching objective of this annual Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) process is to consider prioritizing development of new groundfish management measures in respect groundfish workload and consider adopting additional management measures for later consideration.
This process consists of three main parts. First, it is a dedicated time for constituents to propose new groundfish management measures for the Council to consider. Second, the Council is expected to review and revise the existing list of proposed groundfish management measures and/or incorporate new proposals, as appropriate. The Council could prioritize development of management measures for work in the coming year; however, based on workload and other considerations, the Council is not bound to prioritize any of the measures under consideration.
It is important to note that if any management measure(s) is prioritized for development, they may not be scheduled immediately for development. Work is scheduled after an assessment of Council and National Marine Fisheries Service staff capacity.
Each member of the Council family has a role in this process. Constituents propose new measures, the Groundfish Management Team (GMT) and Groundfish Advisory Subpanel (GAP) review, revise and update the list of previously proposed management measures. They may also recommend additions to the list and items that should be prioritized. The Council considers proposals and recommendation, which they may add to the list and/or prioritize for development.
For an introduction into the process, please review this power point presentation. The Best Practices document provides a detailed look at the process.
The list of prioritized new management measures and proposed management measures as of March 205 is available for download.
For more information, please contact Todd Phillips, Groundfish Staff Officer at 503-820-2426 or todd.phillips@pcouncil.org